Boeing pushed back the debut of Starliner's first crewed mission after a setback two hours out from the liftoff. Initially, it was to blast off May 7 at 10:34 pm ET (0234 UTC May 7). The launch was scrubbed because of a valve problem on the upper stage of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
In response to the problem, Boeing announced that the next launch window will be no earlier than Friday, May 10. The scrubbed launch decision was made after anomalies were detected in the pressure regulation valve of the liquid oxygen tank in the Centaur upper stage of the ULA Atlas V launch vehicle.
Boeing is working hard on the cause of malfunctioning and to design whatever corrective steps are needed. The engineering teams of Boeing, NASA, and United Launch Alliance are hard at work analyzing the data gathered on May 7 for insight into the problem.
The CST-100 Starliner's crewed maiden mission is scheduled to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Indian-Origin Sunita Williams to the International Space Station, in what is turning out to be a milestone in commercial space travel.
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